UNC Asheville dug itself an early hole from which it was never able to completely recover in suffering an 89-75 setback at Tennessee-Martin in the opening round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament on Thursday. With the loss, the Bulldogs finish their season at 23-10. Coach Nick McDevitt’s team fell behind 9-2 after the first five minutes and while it quickly rallied to close the gap to 14-12, the deficit grew to as many as 21 late in the opening half as UT Martin made nine 3-pointers and shot a blistering 66.7 percent from the floor. The momentum shifted in the second half, which saw UNCA score 21 of the first 31 points to close the gap to 58-60 with 11:04 remaining. Led by junior guard Ahmad Thomas, who finished with 22 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and three steals, the Bulldogs scratched back to within 63-62 with 6:46 remaining. But they were never able to complete the comeback by taking the lead. Kevin Vannatta added 18 points for UNCA while Alec Wnuk scored 14. Jacolby Mobley led UT Martin (22-12) with 29 points. “I was real proud of how our group responded to the first half and the hole that we built ourselves,” said McDevitt, whose team shared the Big South Conference regular season title. “We just can’t get down that much to a good team on the road, but again to respond that way and to get it down to one several times, I was real proud of that. “Although this was a disappointing loss tonight, I’m also real proud of what these young men have done all season. To win 23 games, to be co-champions of the Big South this year, I’m just really proud of the effort and work they’ve put in all year long.”
